Steps in the recruitment process

The following figure outlines the important steps involved in the recruitment process. These steps are briefly described below.

Form Selection Committee

Selection committees generally consist of a minimum of two
members but not more than four persons, including the chairperson.

Members of a selection committee should be chosen on the
basis of their objectivity, professionalism and ability to
exercise good judgment in selecting the most suitable person
for the job vacancy.

Where possible, there should representation of both genders.

Members of a selection committees should not have a bias
in favour of one candidate prior to the start of the selection
process. A perception of bias or lack of impartiality can
be damaging to the selection process, and can undermine the
successful candidate.

The members of the selection committee should have a reasonable
level of:

the requirements of the job in question; and

the principles of equal employment opportunity

There should be no change in the members of a selection committee
once it has been been convened, except it may be reduced in
size if there is genuine emergency or illness.

Selection committee members are responsible for:

determining an appropriate method of assessing applicants
that will be free from bias, transparent and stand up to
scrutiny

conducting the interview/screening process

ensuring candidates are selected on the basis of merit

ensuring that selection documentation remains confidential

Review Position Description

Before advertising the job vacancy, members of the selection
panel should review the position description for the job.
If there is not a position description available, one must
be prepared before the selection process can continue.

The purpose of reviewing the position description is so that
members of selection committee can:

Familiarise themselves with the objectives and duties
of the job

Review the selection criteria, if stated in the position
description, or formulate selection criteria if not

Ensure that applicants for the job are well informed about
the nature of the job on offer

If the selection process is "closed merit" then
the position is advertised only to people within the organisation.

Receive Applications

Applications for employment must be treated with considerable
diligence and respect. Failure to appropriately handle applications
for a job can severely jeopardise someone's employment potential,
and thereby cause annoyance, distress, financial hardship
and career prospects.

Employment applications should be acknowledged as soon as
possible, and filed in appropriate place to ensure none are
missed.

The chairperson of the selection committee should review
all incoming applications and attempt to determine a short
list of candidates. If the number of incoming applications
is very large, it may be necessary for the chairperson of
the selection committee to obtain assistance from other staff.

In determining a short list, the chairperson of the selection
committee should eliminate all candidates who have not provided
all the necessary information, especially statements in reply
to key selection criteria.

The next elimination should be those candidates whose skills,
abilities and experience are insufficient to score well against
the key selection criteria.

These eliminations can be carried out reasonably quickly.

The remaining applications will all warrant a closer examination
and awarding of points for each key selection criteria. Then
a number candidates with the highest points score are selected
for the short list depending the available time and energy
for interviewing.

Arrange Interviews

Each candidate should be personally notified by telephone.
It is unadvisable to notify by email, as an email sent is
not necessarily an email received. Notification by letter
is better that email but not as good as telephoning.

The notification should contain:

Start time of interview

Name of the chairperson of the interview panel

Contact details of the chairperson of the interview panel

Job title of the vacant position

Address of the venue for the interview

Advice on the format and duration of the interview

Advice on the number of panelists

Interviews are arranged for convenience of candidates and
interviewers. The chairperson of the interview panel should
endeavour to find a convenient time and date for the interviewee
but this is not always possible. It is generally not feasible
to call the interview panel together on more than one day.

Compile Interview Questions

Interview questions must relate to the key selection criteria.

Questions must be open ended and well-worded so as to cause
the "interviewee" to describe their relevant work
history and/or portray their knowledge.

One question may take the form of a "hypothetical".
The purpose of such a question is to test the candidate "what
would they do" in a certain situation. The "hypothetical"
question adds significant pressure, and it evaluates the level
of knowledge, experience and work-readiness of the candidate.

Generally there is only a need to formulate one question
per key selection criteria. However, the interviewers should
have a supplementary question ready to go if the candidate
struggles to understand the question, or simply does not provide
enough information. The supplementary question gives the candidate
a second bite to divulge more information.

Conduct Interviews

Interview duration:

20 mins

not a serious duration for a career job

30 mins

barely enough time, risk of not keeping
to schedule, rushed, insufficient time for note taking,
decision making, too hard for interviewers.

40 mins

allows for 30 minutes of questions and 10
minutes change round time in which interviewers can write
notes, discuss candidates and refresh themselves.

over 40 mins

durations between 40 mins and one hour are
appropriate for middle management positions.

Select Successful Candidate

'Selection on merit' is a process of determining which job
seeker has the skills, abilities and knowledge deemed to be
most suitable for the job. In a merit based system, applicants
effectively compete for a job. The written application, the
selection interview and any testing of applicants is all part
of the competition process.

If the selection process is said to be "Closed Merit",
a vacant position will be advertised only within the organisation.
Only applicants from within the organisation will be able
to compete for the vacant position.

If the selection process is "Open Merit"
then the vacant position is advertised widely by whatever
means deemed to be suitable to attract a pool of applicants
from outside the organisation. Generally, in an open merit
selection process, vacant positions are advertised in the
jobs section of a newspaper.

If jobs are awarded to individuals on the basis of friendship
or relationship, then the selection process is not Merit Based.
Similarly, if a position is awarded on seniority or plain
proximity of an individual i.e. working in the same office
as the person who previously held the position, then the selection
process is also not merit based.

Check Referees

It is essential to follow through with checking the applicant's referees. Although referees may not make negative comments about the applicant, much can be gleaned from what they say (or do not say). Although referees have agreed to be called and questioned about the applicant, it would not be proper to keep them on the phone for more than five minutes unless the position is very senior. Therefore make sure you prepare your questions in advance of the telephone call.

Formally Notify

You will need to formally notify the successful and unsuccessful candidates as soon as possible. The successful candidate may already have undertaken other interviews and may receive other job offers. Furthermore, it is an important courtesy to formally notify unsuccessful candidates to enable them to carry on with the rest of their life.